Reviewed by Michelles_Cosy_Booknook
Rating: 5/5
Older, perimenopausal women of the book world, REJOICE!!
FINALLY! A book written with women like us firmly at the forefront of the author's mind. And who better to deliver it than Bea Paige, a woman navigating the hormonal rollercoaster of perimenopause herself?!
Meet Edie Valenti. Forty-four years young, newly divorced, and dealing with hormones that seem determined to make her feel anything but fabulous.
However, Edie isn't about to let a few rogue hormones dictate her future. She's ready to embrace her newfound freedom, rediscover herself, and experience everything she's been missing out on.
Fun? Absolutely! Commitment? No, thank you!
Enter Dorian Crow.
A three-hundred-year-old, morally grey vampire with the face and body of a man half Edie's age, and a mouth that promises all manner of deliciously wicked, sinful things.
He's gorgeous, dangerously seductive, and seemingly capable of delivering everything that was so sorely lacking in Edie's marriage. And he is man enough to hand power over to her. He's not afraid to be vulnerable with her.
Sounds perfect, right? Well, that would be a little too easy.
As the pair spend more time together, Dorian finds himself developing feelings he's never experienced before. And for a vampire who's spent three centuries avoiding emotional entanglements, that's quite the predicament.
You see, when Dorian was cursed to become a vampire, he was also condemned never to fall in love. Should he succumb to that particular emotion, he'll die.
Permanently, this time.
Oh, the delicious irony of an immortal man discovering that love might just be the death of him!
Now, let me tell you just how ridiculously excited I was for this book.
From the moment I discovered Bea talking about Her Vampire, His Ruin on her socials, back when it was still a work in progress, I was absolutely FERAL to get my hands on it.
The second physical copies became available to pre-order, I was checking out faster than a perimenopausal mood swing!
And when my copy finally arrived?
Plans cancelled. Chores abandoned. Takeaway ordered.
The world could quite frankly go and do one. I had a date with a vampire, and NOTHING was getting between us.
And oh, my goodness, was it worth the wait!
Bea Paige writes with a glorious combination of sarcasm, humour, heart, heat and, perhaps most importantly, realism.
She takes a stage of a woman's life that is so often portrayed as miserable, embarrassing, or something to be endured quietly, and turns it into something wonderfully funny, empowering and unapologetically sexy.
The hot flushes, the hormonal chaos, the changes to our bodies, the emotional ups and downs... they're all here. But rather than making them the punchline, Bea allows us to laugh with Edie, recognise ourselves in her experiences, and celebrate the woman she is.
And that, for me, is where this book becomes something truly special.
Because I'm forty-nine years young, navigating perimenopause myself, and this book made me feel SEEN.
Not just understood. Not merely represented.
Seen. Celebrated. Desirable.
In fact, this book achieved something I've been struggling to do for years.
It made me feel more confident in my own body.
Those changes I've been viewing as ugly, shameful, or simply signs that I'm getting old? I'm beginning to see them differently.
Rather than feeling as though I'm somehow losing the woman I used to be, I'm learning to embrace the woman I'm becoming.
And there's something incredibly reassuring about feeling part of a sisterhood of powerful, gloriously imperfect women who are still desirable, still adventurous, still passionate, and still very much deserving of their own epic love stories.
Because perimenopause doesn't mean the end of our sexiness, our desirability, or our adventures. And it certainly doesn't mean the end of romance!
Bea Paige has managed to weave that message into a wonderfully entertaining vampire romance without sacrificing the delicious tension, wicked humour, emotional depth or glorious spice.
Her Vampire, His Ruin is sassy, sexy, funny, fiery and unexpectedly reassuring. It's a celebration of women at a stage of life that deserves far more representation in romance.
And I need MORE.
Much, much, MUCH more!
If you're currently navigating the hormonal circus that is perimenopause, please pick up this book. It might just help you find some humour, comfort and confidence amid the chaos.
And if you're not there yet? Read it anyway!
Because there's something rather wonderful about being reminded that getting older doesn't mean becoming invisible. It can mean rediscovery, freedom, empowerment and a whole new chapter of delicious possibilities.
We are not past our prime. We are simply entering a new era. And apparently, that era comes with ridiculously attractive vampires!
I'm throwing ALL the stars at this one.
Absolutely fabulous!